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Sydney Trains A and B Sets
|operator = *Sydney Trains (2013-Present) *CityRail (2011-2013) |fuel = Electric |replaced = Sydney Trains S Set |years_built = 2010 - 2014 (A Sets) 2017 onwards (B Sets) |entered_service = 2011 - 2014 (A Sets) 2018 onwards (B Sets) |years_in_service = 2011 - present (A Sets) 2018 - present (B Sets) |last_vehicles_withdrawn = 1 |number_under_con = 17 (B Sets) |number_in_service = 78 sets (A Sets) 24 sets (B Sets) |airconditioned = Yes |baby_change_table = No |reversible_seating = Yes |wheelchair_access = Yes |Carriages In a set = 8 |toilet = No |number_built = 626 carriages (A Sets) 192 carriages (B Sets) |number_under_construction = 17 sets (B Sets) |refurbishment = None |unit-type = Suburban }} The Sydney Trains 'Waratah' (A and B sets) is a current class of Electric Multiple Unit operating on the Sydney Trains network. A total of 78 A sets and 24 B sets are currently in service as of June 2019. Although initially intended to replace the L, R and S Sets, there was an insufficient number of A sets to facilitate increased services from the 2017 timetable. As a consequence, an order of 24 additional trains was placed in December 2016. These became known as the Series 2 Waratah B sets, which serve the same roles and features as the A sets, but with some additional upgraded features. The B sets were progressively rolled out from 2018 with the final batch entering service the following year, allowing the S sets to be retired once again. A further 17 B sets were ordered in 2019 and are expected to be delivered in 2020. Both variants were co-manufactured by Changchun Railway Vehicles in Changchun, China, and Downer Rail at Cardiff, NSW, Australia. Design Carriage numbers on Waratahs use the D prefix for the driving cars, N for motor cars, and T for trailer cars. The trains consist of eight rigid carriages which differs from previous generation designs of two four-car sets, coupled into eight-car trains. Each set is configured as follows: Trailer Driving car + Motor car + Motor car + Trailer car + Trailer car + Motor car + Motor car + Trailer driving car. This configuration means guards operate from the rear carriage of the train as opposed to the centre. To offset the reduced visibility (especially at curved platforms) the trains include external CCTV cameras, allowing the guard to view all eight carriages. The eight car configuration also allows commuters to walk through the entire train in the case of an emergency. Inside, the train includes additional Emergency Help Points and CCTV cameras. Axis Communications was awarded the contract to install the train's extensive system of 98 CCTV cameras, which are linked together with Power over Ethernet and utilise Progressive scanning technology to allow capturing of events in clear high resolution, with no distortion in quick movement individual frames. The CCTV cameras are designed to withstand vibration and features technologies such as an in-built heater to prevent condensation and alarms to alert of removal or obstruction. Nightshine Australia was selected to produce luminescent arrow signs line, which is affixed on the base of outer seats on the lower and upper decks to direct passengers the most appropriate route of exit.The train flooring utilises Treadmaster TM8, made from a polymer-based material that is designed to be durable, vandal and graffiti resistant. They are also designed with safety in mind, being highly fire resistant with low smoke toxicity output. The Treadmaster TM8 flooring was also later fitted inside the Tangara T sets, in an interior refurbishment project to replace aging components and to improve safety and comfort of the T sets. Improvements to the DVAs (Digital Voice Announcements) with differential pitch of the voice allow more natural sounding speech. All the stations included in the stopping pattern are also announced prior to or soon after departure from a terminus stop. These announcements were changed slightly in 2013, after CityRail was rebranded to Sydney Trains. ‘Smart’ air-conditioning will automatically adjust to the outside temperature and the number of passengers on board. The A set is the first passenger train in the world to use LED lamps for all lighting (except headlights). Moquette, a durable, vandal-resistant material first used in the OSCAR trains, Hunter Railcars, and later adopted in the refurbishments of both the Tangara T sets and Endeavour railcars, is used to cover the train's seats. The first 40 Waratah A sets to enter service carried the NSW Government's Waratah logo. This was later replaced by the Sydney Trains hop logo after the company's formation in July 2013 as part of the Transport for NSW brand. After the rebrand to Sydney Trains, the side of the train near the driver's cabs was covered in orange vinyl. Waratah carriages have a seated capacity of 101 passengers for driving trailer cars, 118 for motor cars, and 110 for trailer cars. In Service * North Shore and Western Lines: Berowra to Emu Plains/Richmond via City * South Line: City Circle to Leppington via Granville / Inner West Line: City Circle to Homebush/Parramatta via Strathfield. * Bankstown Line: City Circle to Lidcombe/Liverpool Via Bankstown * Cumberland Line: Leppington to Schofields/Richmond (off peak only) * Olympic Park Line: Central/Lidcombe to Olympic Park (Special events only) * Airport & East Hills Lines: City Circle to Macarthur via Airport/Sydenham * Northern Line: Hornsby to Gordon via Epping, Strathfield & City A sets operate on all of the above. B sets operate on the T2, T3 and T8 lines. As it is a suburban train, A sets do not run on NSW TrainLink lines. They do not run on some Sydney Trains lines because they can take out the overhead wiring systems by pulling too much current from them, with one notable case being the T4 Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line, which currently only runs Tangara T sets (for all T4 suburban services) and OSCAR H sets (for South Coast Line services) as they are the only trains that can run on the line safely without power issues. This makes the T4 line the only major suburban line that A sets do not operate on, barring lines that only run 4 car services. Very rarely, the Waratahs have operated on other lines, as the electrical systems can cope with one or two A sets. Prior to the 2017 timetable, Waratahs also never ran on the Cumberland line. B sets In December 2016, 192 new carriages (forming 24 new sets) were ordered for a new timetable planned in November 2017, to keep the S sets out of service. This fleet are known as the B sets, the first B set was unveiled in March 2018 and entered service towards the end of October 2018, The first B set to Enter service was set B2 in September 2018, it operated Multiple Services on Sector 2. The last of the initial order of 24 B sets arrived in April 2019. The last set of the first batch, B24, entered service on 20 June 2019. On 21 July 2019, B24 participated in the "three generations run" during Transport Heritage NSW's Farewell S Sets public event. B24 ran up to Strathfield, while the other two sets that ran, Red Rattler F1 and S Sets S28 + S56 continued to St Marys. In January 2019, a further 17 more B sets were ordered ahead of the NSW state election. This is a further upgrade from the current B sets. These additional B sets are likely to feature rail fault detectors and many more features, much like B23 and B24. This second batch of B sets will carry set numbers B25 to B41. Formation The 626 carriages will form 78 eight car sets (numbered A1 to A78) with 2 spare driving cars. Individual vehicles are numbered as follows: *A1: D6301-N5301-N5501-T6501-T6601-N5601-N5401-D6401, * A3: D6303-N5303-N5503-T6503-T6603-N5603-N5403-D6403 up to *A78: D6378-N5378-N5578-T6578-T6678-N5678-N5478-D6478, * A80: D6380-N5380-N5580-T6580-T6680-N5680-N5480-D6480 The two spare driving cars are D6379 and D6479. These were the first vehicles delivered, along with N5342 and N5442, and are part of the four car testing and development train. N5342 and N5442 were meant to be added to A42 when it arrived, but this was never done for various reasons. They now remain at Cardiff, having had most parts stripped from them for spares. All carriage numbers on Waratahs (not counting spares) have the last two digits correspond to the set number. Spare car D6379 was later added onto set A42, replacing D6342, which suffered damage when A42 crashed into a buffer at Richmond station. The first 40 sets were delivered to Sydney Trains with the NSW Government’s Waratah logo on each carriage. Following the formation of Sydney Trains in July 2013 these were replaced by the Sydney Trains logo and the sides of the driver's cab covered in orange vinyl. One set which was A2 had to be scrapped due to an acid spill on the boat when it was returning to China. This has since been replaced by A80. The B set carriages are numbered: D11nn-N17nn-N19nn-T13nn-T14nn-N18nn-N16nn-D12nn (with nn representing the corresponding Set number) B sets have the same appearance and functionality as A sets. The main differences for B sets are a slightly different livery, a new additional information screen in the vestibule area, and the internal passenger information screens being a digital display instead of an LED display. Waratah carriages also have special airbags under the axle, with air pressure meters. These special sensors allow the carriages to read the weight of the passengers inside, which allows the Passenger Information Display System (PIDS) to measure capacity inside each carriage, helping alert passengers to which carriages have seats available, which ones have standing room only, and which carriages are completely full. This capacity measurement feature is designed in order to help minimise scrambling of passengers on crowded platforms trying to get into certain carriages. Green indicates carriages with seats available, yellow for carriages with standing room only, and red if the carriage is full. This capacity indicator feature for Waratah-rostered services was first used on real-time apps like TripView and AnyTrip, but has now been installed on PIDS screens at stations for all Waratah-rostered services as of 19 May 2019. More information can be found here: https://transportnsw.info/news/2019/seat-availability-feature-now-at-station-platforms Accidents * On 14th October 2014, A29 was extensively damaged after it was trapped by rising flood-waters at Bardwell Park. Water reached up to door level and as a result, many electrical components underneath the train were destroyed. The train was towed to Cardiff using a locomotive and repairs took several months to complete. * A22 was involved in a derailment on 23rd October 2014 at Mulgrave. The derailment was caused by catch points after an SPAD (Signal Passed At Danger), however it only had minor damage and soon returned to service. * On 20th March 2017, carriage N5508 on set A8 suffered an explosion of its air conditioning unit at Burwood. The carriage was subsequently repaired and A8 later returned to regular service. * On 22nd January 2018, A42 failed to stop in time and crashed into the buffer stop at the end of platform 2 at Richmond station. According to the preliminary report, the train was travelling around 35km/h at the time of the crash. The resulting recovery operation took several days as the couplers were damaged. Eventually, the train was transported in sections of 2-3 cars to Cardiff. There had been rumours are that the train would be written off, which has since been debunked. In response to the incident, Sydney Trains has introduced a temporary speed restriction of 20 km/h on approach to Richmond station. The train stop attached to the signal controlling access to the platforms will also strike the train if it exceeds 25km/h. The accident report can be found here. After the repairs at Cardiff, A42 was then transferred to UGL Unipart at Auburn for additional repairs, with damaged driving car D6342 being replaced by spare car D6379. A42 re-entered service on March 27th, 2019. * On September 5 2018, a Waratah A set (set number unknown) hit and killed man at Riverwood station. More information here : https://www.theleader.com.au/story/5629403/man-struck-and-killed-by-train-at-riverwood/#slide=0 Trivia * A42 is the first set to suffer major damage since the class' debut. ** It’s also the first set to use one of the prototype carriages (D6379) as a replacement carriage. * The Prototype carriages were used as the test train, which were later used as spare carriages. * On 30th September 2018, set A3 ran the last Sydney Trains service along the Epping-Chatswood Rail Link in the eastbound direction. The last westbound service on the ECRL (and the last ECRL service overall) was run by Tangara T sets T53 and T74. After the service by the latter pair finished, the line underwent conversion to become part of the Sydney Metro automated driverless rail network. * The Waratahs have went through a few changes during their lifetime. ** 2013: *** Sydney Trains “hop” logo replaced NSW Government logo. A13 became the first set to incorporate the new logo. *** The side on the front of the driving cars were repainted orange. ** 2018: *** The 24 new Series 2 B sets begin rolling onto the network. The B sets feature a new livery to blend in with the Transport for NSW franchise, and to distinguish them from the A sets. The front of the B sets are painted orange with the Sydney Trains logo. Film Apperences *When ABC ME (after it was rebranded from ABC3) first came out, a music video called 'Me2u' was played. In the first few shots, an A set (A32) can be seen coming towards the camera at Newtown and later going past the presenter in the video. *A1 made an appearance in the music video “In The Beginning” by rap group OneFour. The video was filmed at the group’s hometown of Mount Druitt, with Mount Druitt station also appearing in the clip. Gallery ASetVestibule.png|Vestibule area inside a Waratah ASetVestibule2.png ASetUpperDeck.png|Upper deck seating ASetLowerDeck.png|Lower deck seating CityRail_A_Set_Waratah_exterior_view.jpg|A Set in original condition with NSW Government “Waratah” logo ASetDrivingTrailerCar.jpg|Waratah driving trailer car (D prefix) ASetMotorCar.jpg|Waratah motor car (N prefix) ASetTrailerCar.jpg|Waratah trailer car (T prefix) See also List of Sydney Trains/NSW TrainLink fleets External Links * https://transportnsw.info/travel-info/ways-to-get-around/train/fleet-facilities/waratah-trains Category:Sydney Trains Category:Electric Trains Category:Sydney Trains fleet